FIFA have announced that Premier League clubs will not be obliged to release Portuguese or South American players for the next round of international fixtures.
Under normal circumstances all sides must allow members of their squad to represent their countries if they are called up. But as a result of the coronavirus pandemic an exemption was made to allow clubs to refuse in certain circumstances.
The latest UK rules state that anyone returning from a 'red list' country - including Portugal, all of South America and southern Africa - will need to quarantine for ten days, with no exception for elite sports stars.
And for this reason clubs will be able to block any players from those nations from travelling for the games lined up for March.
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